Freshii

Freshii is a Canadian fast casual restaurant franchise that serves burritos, wraps, soups, salads, and frozen yogurt. It was founded in 2005 by CEO Matthew Corrin, and has since expanded to over 100 locations in countries including Canada, the United States, Colombia, Peru, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, and United Arab Emirates, with franchises under development in Germany, Guatemala, and Saudi Arabia.[1] As of the end of December 2021, freshii has 343 stores in North America.[2] Freshii does not disclose the number of stores located outside of North America in its financial reports but states that these stores represent a small portion of its overall revenues.[2]

Freshii
TypePublic
TSX: FRII
IndustryFast casual dining
FoundedSeptember 2005 (2005-09) (as Lettuce Eatery)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
FounderMatthew Corrin
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario, Canada
ProductsBurritos
Salads
Wraps
Rice/Noodle Bowls
Soups
Frozen Yogurt
Websitefreshii.com
Freshii in Markham, Ontario

History

Freshii was founded by Matthew Corrin in Toronto, in 2005.[3] At the time, Matthew Corrin was working under fashion designer Oscar de la Renta when he became inspired by New York delis that offered fresh food.[4] Originally called "Lettuce Eatery", the store opened to large queues and ran out of food on the first day before the end of lunch. In 2016, the company opened an average of 3.5 new stores per week and reached a total of 220 stores in 20 countries. Rapid expansion has also been seen in Latin America, with Colombia serving as the base of operations. As of 2015, Freshii hopes to open from 13 to 20 restaurants in Chile over the next decade. Restaurants have also been opening in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama. The Latin American locations all feature the same core menu as Freshii outlets in North America and Europe, but also add several local or domestic ingredients. As of 2017, they're also planning on expanding into the UK market, as Freshii CEO and founder Matthew Corrin said in a statement that the United Kingdom is underserved when it comes to healthy fast-casual food offerings and the company believes there is tremendous opportunity to grow the brand in the region.[5]

In 2016, the chain introduced meal boxes at most locations which include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks.[6][7] The boxes are available in plans ranging from 1 to 30 days and focus on healthy eating.[8] In February 2019, Freshii announced plans to begin selling their pre-packaged meals inside of Walmart Canada stores.[9]

Freshii's business activity is supervised by a five-member board of directors that is chaired by CEO and founder Matthew Corrin. Additional board members include Adam Corrin (COO), as well as Heather Briant, William Schultz, and Stephen A. Smith.[10]

Philanthropy

Freshii is an active supporter of many local organizations where they have operating locations. Globally, Freshii is an active supporter of WE Charity and meals are donated to children in need when certain meals are purchased by customers.[11]

Criticism

In late April 2022, Freshii drew criticism from the Canadian Labour Congress for outsourcing jobs to Central American countries, taking advantage of their lower minimum wage compared to Canada's and eliminating positions that student workers previously took.[12]

See also

References
  1. "Freshii". www.freshii.com.
  2. "Freshii Inc. 2021 Q4 MDA" (PDF). February 24, 2022.
  3. Eng, Dinah. "Freshii's fresh take on fast food". Fortune. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  4. "Freshii - About". www.freshii.com. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  5. "Freshii plans expansion to U.K." The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  6. Taylor, Kate (6 February 2016). "This up-and-coming restaurant chain studied McDonald's, Starbucks, and Chipotle to take them down". Business Insider.
  7. Nash, Kelsey (27 April 2016). "Restaurants get into the meal subscription game".
  8. Leader Smith, Elizabeth (2 November 2016). "Healthy Fast-Casual Freshii Finally Heads to Mueller". Eater Austin.
  9. "Freshii to sell food in grocery stores through Walmart Canada partnership". CTV News. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  10. "Freshii Inc. - Corporate Governance - Board of Directors". freshii.inc. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  11. Record, The. "Freshii goes public with ambitious growth plan". www.therecord.com. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  12. Campbell, Morganne (27 April 2022). "Freshii introduces 'Percy' virtual cashier, outsourcing jobs to Central America". Global News. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.